A Thousand Thoughts that Friday
by BleedPurple
Summary: This one shot take place after "A 1,000 Words by Friday". Betty is still heavily on Gio's mind and he finds himself unable to stop thinking about his "loss" to Henry and how what Betty means to him. A little H/B at the end. Hopefully the timeline is right


**Here is my attempt at a One Shot that I decided to do while I get over the slight writers block I'm going through with my other two stories! I hope you enjoy. **

**A/N: I do not know a THING about cars and had to look up the little bit of information I included in this story. If someone does know about cars and realizes what I put makes no sense, well…you know why. **

"Forget research," Gio had said, with a suggestive smile. "I _earned_ these! I told that girl over there That I'm going to Iraq next week. Gotta strike now."

In reality, Gio had seen that girl leave with her friends 20 minutes earlier. But he needed a good excuse to walk away from Betty and the Nerd King she called her boyfriend without feeling like any more of a loser. He just couldn't _believe_ he lost to Egg Salad.

He also couldn't believe Henry had the nerve to show up that night. Betty had looked just as surprised as he did. Gio realized at that moment that he really wasn't too much of a fan of Henry's, and by the way Eggy said "Game on, Sandwich Boy;" Gio knew the feeling was mutual. None of that mattered any though. Egg Salad had beaten him. Betty didn't seem too pleased with this victory, but Gio had figured out by now that when Betty was upset with Henry it meant something completely different when she was upset with Gio. When she was displeased with Gio, that usually meant he was a Pig. When she was displeased with Henry, that somehow still made Henry some sort of loveable Greek God. Gio just didn't get it.

"Hey!"

Gio may not have understood it, but he certainly wasn't surprised. After all, Betty is the same chick that decided to continue dating a guy who had knocked up some other chick and planned on leaving her to be with that woman in a few months.

"Hello?!"

Gio remembered Betty's parting comment to him that night: "Classy," she had disdainfully replied. He hated how Betty saw him, but at this point the figured he had no one to blame but himself. Originally, he had found himself annoyed by Betty's closed minded attitude and teased her even more to teach her a lesson in a sense. Eventually he grew to love her attitude as he saw it as kind of sweet and naïve, and made the point to bug her even more just so he could see her cute face. But lately, every little "Ugh!" and eye roll she threw at him hurt his feelings a little.

"_Yo!! _Earth to Giovanni!"

Gio jolted at the angry sound of his friend Dae'Von's voice, which popped him back into reality. "_What_?" he cried. "I'm listening to you."

"Really?" Dae'Von replied. "Because I didn't ask if you were listening to me. I asked what you thought of the car."

Gio glanced around at the beaten and rusted vehicle he was currently riding in. The loud sound of the muffler scraping the street made him laugh as he wondered just how many sparks the vehicle was generating. "I think you were better off riding the subway." he replied.

"What do you mean?" Dae'Von asked. "This is a 1982 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser. It's a classic!"

"A classic _mess_!" Gio quipped. "The muffler is scraping the road!"

"That is _not_ the muffler," Dae'Von insisted. "That's just a teeny, tiny piece of metal under the car that came loose when the last owner drove over a curb."

"Right." Gio said, unconvinced. "What about the fact that your Glove compartment is being held shut with tape? Or the fact that in order to get into the driver's seat you have to climb through the window in the _back_ because the driver's side door is jammed for some strange reason?"

Dae'Von rolled his eyes. "Look Gio," he began. "Outside appearance aside, this car is a gem. It's what it's got going on _inside_ that makes you want to holla back, not how busted up it is on the outside."

Interestingly enough, Gio found himself thinking of Betty again with that statement. She may not dress very well or be super thin, and she may have Grandma glasses from the 1960's and she may still wear braces like she's twelve years old, but he knew she had so much heart and soul and intelligence. He just wish she'd open up and let him see more of it.

"Did you hear what I said?"

Gio remembered Betty was suppose to turn in her article today. He wondered how that went.

"Damn it man! Where are you? You've been in your own little world all night!"

Gio gave a weak smile. "Sorry, man." He said. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

Dae'Von looked concerned. "You've never been like this before," he replied. "Are you having problems with the Deli already?"

"It's nothing like that at all." Gio sighed. Glancing out the window he saw a guy that looked like an Asian version of Egg Salad walking down the street. Gio frowned. "Hey, Dae…can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"If you got another girl pregnant, would Keisha still continue to date you, even if you planned on leaving her to be with the other woman once the kid is born?"

Dae'von started laughing so hard he swerved the car a little. "Are you _kidding_ me?!" he choked. "Keisha would have her foot so far up my ass I'd have to walk bent over for the rest of my life!"

"That's what I thought."

Dae'Von furrowed his brow. "Why? Did you get some girl pregnant?"

"No! It's just a stupid situation a friend of mine got herself in. She's dating some guy whose leaving her to live with his girlfriend and their baby in a few months. I think she's being stupid, but she thinks I'm being egotistical every time I bring it up. What do you think?"

"I think you _are_ egotistical."

"I mean about her situation, smart ass."

"I don't know this girl or her exact situation from a hill of beans, man. It does sound like she's setting herself up for some real hurt, but she obviously has her reasons for wanting to do this. Right?"

Gio stared down at his seatbelt…or more specifically, the rope he had tied around his waist that was acting as a seatbelt. "I guess." he muttered.

"Besides," Dae'Von continued. "How do you know he's going to shack up with that chick? Maybe he's just going to be near his baby. I think that's cool considering how many times my sister's always bitchin about how 'Men ain't shit!' Maybe she's planning to move there with him."

Gio found that possibility actually made him sick to his stomach. "You don't think she'd _do_ that do you?" he asked.

Dae'Von looked confused. "Why do you care so much?" he asked. After a few seconds of silence from Gio, Dae'Von chuckled. "Ah, I _get_ it! This girl is more than just a friend, isn't she?"

Gio sighed. He remembered that awkward hug Betty gave him. The one that made him feel like he were crawling with insects and stank of garbage. "No, she's just a friend." he replied. Dae'von's car then backfired so loud that Gio thought his heart jump into his throat.

"Jeez, Dae!" Gio exclaimed. "You spent months saving your money so you could buy a car because you were apparently tired of paying me gas money to drive you around, and you bought _this _rolling embarrassment?"

"What I tell you?" Dae'Von snipped. "This is a muscle car!! It's got it goin _on_ inside, man! This has a 260/100 HP V8 engine!!"

"My expertise is in food, so I have no idea what that means."

"Let me put it to you this way, Gio my man," Dae'Von said, putting on his best Christopher Lloyd from Back to the Future accent. "When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're going to see some serious shit."

"Yeah, like the _wheels_ falling off maybe," Gio scoffed, deciding not to tell Dae'Von his side mirror just fell off and rolled down the street. "It's amazing we haven't been pulled over yet."

"Whatever, man."

Dae'Von started babbling about all of his big plans for fixing up the car, but Gio had let himself once again start to mull over his whole situation with Betty. As much as he hated to admit it, he really _didn't_ have any reason to hate Henry. But he sure as hell wished Eggy would hop the next plane to Arizona sooner rather than later.

He wondered why he had to care so much about Betty. He wondered why Betty couldn't be single so he cold see house their relationship would eventually grow.

He thought about how often he teased her and how often he annoyed her. He thought about those painful eye rolls an disgusted scoffs she made it seemed every time he spoke, and the loving smile that spread across her face when Egg Salad so much as waved. Then Gio wondered if he had blown any chance he might've had with Betty in the future.

"_Well?!"_

But then he remembered he helped her get back into writing. He was proud of that, as he honestly felt Betty could go far in life with that skill. And now she's gotten a chance to write an article and get in published in a magazine. He thought about how proud he was of her and how he was glad she was making a real effort and no longer was making excuses about why she couldn't write.

"Damn it Gio! You keep drifting off into La La land you're going to find yourself _walking_ back to Queens!"

Gio thought about how sweet and confident Betty looked when she was on her way to interview Phillip Roth. Or at least how confident she looked _before_ he told her who she was _really_ interviewing.

He smiled as he thought about calling Betty the next chance he got to see how getting her article published went.

**That same night across town…**

Betty stared into Henry's eyes. He seemed so hopeful and so honest when he told her how he felt about Gio. But she also saw how sad he seemed to be. Her heart sank as she realized Henry might have this exact look on his face when he got on that plane to Arizona. They both would. It was a sinking feeling she didn't want either one of them to have yet.

"Look," she began. "I don't want anything to get in the way of the little time we have together." She shrugged at this very fixable problem. "I just won't see him anymore."

Henry made that patented puppy dog face that always warmed her heart. "I feel so stupid," he admitted. "I know how much you love his chicken salad."

"Yeah, but I love you more." Betty answered, realizing this wouldn't be the time to admit she genuinely enjoyed Gio's company, no matter how over opinionated he could be. And something about Gio's smile seemed to cheer her up, even when he was goading her about something he really knew nothing about. At this moment however that seemed irrelevant, as this was about making sure these next few months were as happy as she and Henry could make them. Happy. Not stressed or sad and certainly _not_ jealous. Still, the thought of possibly going back to Peanut Butter and Jelly in the downstairs snack kiosk didn't sound too exciting.

"You will learn how to make chicken salad though, won't you?"

**End**.


End file.
